Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

We collect information that you voluntarily provide when you:

• Create an Account: Email address, password, display name, and optional professional information (optometry school, graduation year, practice state)
• Use the Service: Game scores, progress data, preferences, and any content you submit
• Contact Us: Name, email address, and message content
• Subscribe to Newsletter: Email address and subscription preferences

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

When you use our Service, we automatically collect certain information, including:

• Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, time spent, and interaction patterns
• Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, and IP address
• Cookies and Tracking: We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience and analyze usage
• Game Analytics: Game performance, scores, streaks, and achievement data

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our Service
• Process your account registration and manage your account
• Track your progress and provide personalized features
• Display leaderboards and competitive features
• Send you service-related communications and updates
• Send newsletters and marketing communications (with your consent)
• Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
• Detect, prevent, and address technical issues and security threats
• Analyze usage patterns to improve user experience
• Comply with legal obligations

2.1 Platform Protection and Anti-Misuse

We may use account, device, and usage information to protect the Service and our users from abuse, including unauthorized scraping, automated extraction, exam-content harvesting, reverse engineering, and other attempts to copy or replicate our platform, content, or features for competing products or services.

2.2 Legal Defense and Rights Protection

We may process and preserve relevant information as reasonably necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; investigate suspected intellectual property infringement, fraud, abuse, or unfair competition; and enforce our Terms of Service and other legal rights, subject to applicable law and your rights under applicable privacy statutes.

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

3.1 Public Information

Certain information may be publicly visible, including:

• Display name on leaderboards
• Game scores and achievements
• Public profile information (if you choose to make it public)

3.2 Service Providers

We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our Service, such as:

• Hosting and cloud storage providers (Supabase)
• Analytics services (Google Analytics)
• Email service providers

These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

3.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., court orders, subpoenas).

3.4 Legal Defense and Enforcement Disclosures

Where permitted by law, we may share relevant information with legal counsel, investigators, insurers, courts, law enforcement, and affected rights holders when reasonably necessary to investigate misuse, enforce our legal rights, respond to intellectual property complaints, prevent fraud, or defend against legal claims, consistent with applicable law.

3.5 We Do Not Sell Data to Competitors

We do not sell or license your personal information or individualized usage data to competing exam-preparation providers for their own marketing, product development, or competitive analysis.

4. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication and password hashing
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Access controls and authentication requirements
• Secure hosting infrastructure

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to:

• Remember your preferences and settings
• Analyze how you use our Service
• Provide personalized content and features
• Track conversions and measure advertising effectiveness

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features of the Service.

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request access to your personal information
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal information
• Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications
• Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise these rights, please contact us at contact@optoconnections.com. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete such information.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. When you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information, except where we are required to retain it for legal purposes.

We may retain security, access, and anti-abuse logs for a reasonable period when needed to detect, investigate, or document potential misuse, policy violations, intellectual property claims, and legal disputes.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country. By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

10. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete your personal information, and the right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information).

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

13. Third-Party Names and Non-Affiliation

OptoConnections is an independent educational platform and is not endorsed by, sponsored by, affiliated with, or approved by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), OptoPrep, KMK, or any other third-party exam-preparation provider unless expressly stated. Any third-party names, marks, or references are used only for nominative and informational purposes and remain the property of their respective owners.